On Sunday 4th July 2021 a day of football was held at Chipping Football Club in memory of Andrew Key.
Andy’s family and friends came together to celebrate his life and love of football, and to raise money and awareness for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
Despite the unfavourable weather, over 300 people were in attendance on the day, and were treated to two great matches.
First up, managed by Shirley Fletcher and Sharon Potter, Chipping Ladies (many of whom were close friends of Andy) played a well-spirited, competitive in-house friendly to get the day off to a strong start.
On completion of the opening game, we heard a speech from Dave and Sue Hughes, who lost their 28 year-old son Daniel to a cardiac arrest in 2015, and have since become CRY representatives to help raise awareness and offer people assistance and reliable information about the charity. We thank Dave, Sue and the whole family for making the journey to spend the day with us.
Next up came the main event. Two hand-picked teams made up of Andy’s family and friends went up against each other in a well contested exhibition match. A wide range of ages and footballing abilities came together to form the teams in a game which we hope would’ve given Andy a great deal of enjoyment and a few laughs along the way!
On completion of the football all teams were awarded participation medals and respective ‘players of the match’ were announced. Thankfully the rain gave way for some sunshine to give the players and volunteers some time to enjoy a drink with the rest of the crowd and reflect on the day.
Throughout the day, those in attendance were encouraged to take advantage of the fully stocked bar and BBQ areas which were kindly being manned by volunteers, as well as a cake stand full of generously donated home bakes.
The local community had also come together to donate some fantastic raffle prizes, which was greatly appreciated and produced lots of lucky winners.
The main goal of our day was to give Andrew’s family and friends a platform to share their memories of Andy in an environment that he loved, while simultaneously raising awareness and money for CRY. After totalling up the figures, we are proud to say we managed to raise a fantastic £7,378.00 which we feel is testament to Andy himself, and shows the unwavering love and support from the local community towards his family.
Huge thanks to everyone who gave their time to help make the day a success, and to all those who attended and dug deep in their pockets for such a worthy cause.
Special mention must also go to Chris Boyes, who donated a signed, framed Paul Gascgoine shirt complete with certificate of authenticity. A stand-alone raffle was held for the shirt which raised a massive £3095 towards our total.
Alongside other fundraising efforts including Cycling and Golf, and with the Cricket yet to come, we are proud to continue fundraising in Andy’s name.
by Martin Cookson
